Flight of the Swallow
by Reaper-of-Lost-Souls
Summary: Spending all of her life in a cage Suzume was suddenly freed, but dangers in the outside world threaten her existence. A past she doesn't know comes back to haunt her with demons in her mist. Yet she wants to keep everything she knows safe from harm. What can this sparrow do against the serpents from her nightmares? GaaraXOC? Violence, gore, cheesy scenes. M to be safe
1. The Dreadful Escape

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Well to start off with I never wrote a Naruto fanfic story before. I thought about it once, but never got around to typing it up. I watched Naruto a few years ago and was interested in the story till the shippuden series, depressed that my favorite character Gaara died. Actually that episode was just released when I finally finished watching all 200+ episodes so I was heartbroken. So yeah. I sort of had a bias towards this story because hey, I flippen finished 200+ episodes and my favorite character dies. What the heck?**

**Anyways enough about that XD I recently got back into the series. You can thank a random AMV on youtube for that. I am still reading the manga and watching the anime, starting from the beginning and working my way into the shippuden series. So if I'm inaccurate in some parts I'm sorry in advance. I'd rather you tell me instead of keeping everything a secret and then I learn later how foolish I was. In this story I introduce various other types of jinchuurikis. In the series: jinchuuriki means "power of human sacrifice" and are those individuals possessing bijuu, but in other translations that I've seen jinchuuriki just means individuals possessing demons. So there will be bijuu demons, tailed demons, but also other demons. Mainly just animal demons like hebis or okamis or something like that. We'll see where it goes. That's the basis of my idea. So yes, there are only 9 certified bijuus and jinchuurikis, but I call anyone who has some sort of sealed demon a jinchuuriki just so I have a based name for them =3**

**Just a few more things I suppose. I did at one time have an OC ages ago. My OC that I'm using now is derived from that other OC, but not the same one. Yes, I still have a thing for Gaara (long before he was the Kazekage in fact X3) I don't know if I'll turn this into a GaaraXOC story… sort of depends on where I'm going with this. It'll probably be a story composed of just my OC, just so you know in advance. There will be other OCs also. Teams in the Sand and Leaf villages, various other ninjas and people the characters encounter. If you would like one of your own OCs to be incorporated into the story don't be afraid to ask. I'm going to have to come up with a bunch of OCs anyways (not to mention my main OCs) so it'd be nice to have some help =D Also, I plan on posting this story on my deviantart account also. Any pictures I have made will be uploaded there (though I do have to say they'll probably mostly by sketches because I don't have time to color pictures ^^' usually) And… I think that's it. If I feel like I forgot something I'll say it later. Thank you so much guys for reading this story and your comments would be greatly appreciated! =D **

! #$%^&*()

Tears streamed down a little girl's pale face as she ran through the woods, a small black handbook tucked into her arms while she avoided the oversized tree growth around her.

"Get the demon!"

"The jinchuuriki stole the guidebook!"

"Someone kill her!"

She yelped, almost tripping over a root, but as she fell to the ground a branch picked her up by the stomach and pushed her forward. Looking back she wondered what had happened, but fearful for her life she didn't question anything and kept running. Running, she was going to die. She had to keep going or else they would take her back. Tripping on mud she fell on her side, sliding down the side of a mountain until she landed on the sand. "uuUMPH!" she yelped as she fell to the ground, noticing the water in front of her and the small wooden craft by her side.

"There she is!" she heard them from the top of the hill, throwing herself onto the handmade craft and launching it into the waters.

"H-hey my boat!" a man suddenly cried out from shore, but the girl didn't notice who had said it as the craft began to float out into the vast ocean.

She felt a sharp breeze of wind nip her cheek, looking up to see thundering clouds overhead. Whimpering she curled up into the side of the boat, the book clutched in her arms while she closed her eyes. Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe her inner demons were terrorizing her again. Yet everything felt so real: this book in her hands, the wood against her back, and the harsh winds flying overhead pushing the boat further out into the ocean. Was she as good as dead? What was going to happen? All she wanted to do was get away, see the sky above. Get out of the confinement she was in. Live.

The wind got harsher and she cried out in terror, the boat beginning to spin and making her feel dizzy. Opening her eyes she saw lights raining down from the heavens, striking the water and making the tidal waves rumble. Scrunching her nose she closed her eyes again, trembling in fear. The world outside was scarier than she thought, but she had to keep going. She didn't know where she was going or where this wooden craft was going, but as long as she got as far away from that place full of angry people as she could she didn't care. Nothing would be there for her if she returned and hopefully there will be something waiting for her when she wakes up. Sleep… she will sleep… and when she awakens perhaps she'll find a place where she can be loved for what she is, a jinchuuriki.

! #$%^&*()

When her eyes opened bright light shone in her face, causing her to hiss in pain. Staring down at the wood for a few more moments she looked up again, then around to get her bearings right. She seemed to be on the beach again, but this was different. There were no trees around, only patches of shrubs, and all that she saw was sand. Sand, sand, and more sand. There was the water beside her, but the land around her was just gritty, soft and vast ground. "Hmmm…" she thought aloud, standing to her feet and looking around. Looking out into the ocean she didn't see land in the distance. How in the world did she get here? Sighing she turned her bright sapphire eyes towards the beach, the sand further out as far as the eye could see. The place she was standing on was hot, stepping out of the boat with the book clutched to her chest. There didn't seem to be any food either… what could she eat?

Deciding the only thing to do now was walk through the sand in a desperate attempt to find food. Looking back to the ocean she knew that if she stayed here someone may find her, and kill her. Yes, she turned her gaze back on the hot sand in front of her, she will have to walk. Pulling on her raggedy clothes she began her walk through the sand, the bearing sun beating down on her body while she trudged through the land. The fact that she had jet black hair did not help her with this intense heat, her hair long and messy because she had never been groomed.

As the wind picked up it didn't help her with the heat at all, but a strange wall of sand had stopped the wind's assault, but only when she stood still. "Hmmm… is this the power of a demon or is it just me?" she thought aloud, shrugging and continuing forward. The wall over her head helped shield the sun, but the wind was still blowing and battering at her body. She looked up to the sky, wishing for rain. Oh she was so thirsty, hungry… she needed nourishment. How long has she been walking? All day? The sun was close to setting, but the wind was picking up again. Just as she thought all hope was lost a thin image appeared in her sights, buildings of browns appearing off in the distance. Is this… is that a group of people?

Her eyes lit up and she ran, running as fast as she could through the sand. The wall had fallen behind her, dispersing in the surrounding sand. The wind picked up, blowing her closer to the rocks and the buildings, but she had to find something there! Yet when she showed up the place was desolate. Was it abandoned or… did they know she was here? –

"EEP!" she yelped, the wind flying past her face and striking her cheek. Her petite body was thrown into a nearby wall, spitting up a small amount of blood into the sand. Quickly she found shelter behind one of the buildings, a sandy stone wall that had a large crack in the side. Scurrying like a frightened rat she curled up into a ball, her back facing the outside world while she clutched the book to her chest and closed her eyes. Again she was stuck in a situation she did not know about. First she was told to run, second was floating on that boat for days, and now this? The heavens must frown upon her for leaving the place of her birth, but what could she do? Stay and let them kill her? Have them chain her back up like a beast again? She wanted to be free! Free! If that meant she was going to die starving to death then so be it! This just showed that this was as far as she could go… no matter what Ayumu told her, she recalled, she couldn't keep living like this. She didn't know how to get food, but maybe, when the wind died down, she could leave the safety of the hole in the wall and look around. She closed her eyes again, deciding to get back to sleep. Even if she was never safe in her dreams it passed the time faster than living out in this real world. "If I die here, Ayumu, then… then your wish was not meant to be. I'm sorry," she mumbled under her breath, drifting off into sleep. "I am… so sorry… Ayu… m-mu… S-so sorry… But I promise," she paused, her eyes slightly open as she heard the wind whistling behind her, "I will protect this book till it kills me Ayumu. I promise you that… I won't let anyone else take this book… I… p-promise y-ou… Ay… u… muuuuu…"

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

A light breeze nipped the back of her head and she began to wake up, groaning in pain and pressing her head against the stone before fully lifting up her head from her fetal position. "I-I need to get better at waking up in this bright place," she huffed, rubbing the front of her head before realizing she had dropped the book. Quickly picking it off of the ground in front of her she stood up, turning around and blinking in confusion at how lively the place suddenly became. Had they noticed her yet? Or just ignored her? "Ignored probably," she snorted under her breath, feeling her stomach grumble and she groaned at the sound. If she didn't eat something quick she was going to go crazy! This would have to be the longest she had gone without food… okay maybe not. There was one time when they had forgotten about her for a week, but she wasn't moving around like she was now. She kept her body close to the wall, glaring at the pedestrians passing by and looking for food. Her eyes lit up when she noticed a market place, a few stands outside with people buying items. Hmmm… she had never seen this before. So you have to exchange something for food?

She looked down at her hands, thinking of what she could do. Should she try to take something? Maybe she could make that item appear in her hands and she could exchange it for food. Closing her eyes she concentrated, holding her hands in front of her body while the book was safely tucked under her armpit. She pressed her right foot into the ground, the sand gathering up into her hands as she crunched the grit between her fingers. She opened her eyes, dark blue snake slit eyes peered down at the sand in her hands, a light blue glow streaming around her hands until the sand completely dispersed from her hands. Blinking a few times her eyes went back to their normal bright sapphire luster, a grin on her face as she clutched the coins in her hands and quickly made her way over to a stand. "E-excuse me sir –"

"Go away urchin! –"

"B-but I have money, see?" she lifted her hands and smiled, the man behind the booth raising an eyebrow at her kindness. "Can I have food now?"

"… Sure," he snorted, snatching all the coins from her hands, though he hid a wide grin over the fact that she gave him much more than she needed. "Take something and go away."

Nodding she glanced at the food, grabbing the largest piece she saw and scurried away. She clutched the food to her chest till she couldn't hear the people anymore, sighing happily and looking down at the food before eating it whole. "Oh gosh that's good," her eyes lit up and she grabbed the book she had tucked under her arm, looking in her clothing and tucking it under some random fold of clothing. Then she sighed, looking up to the heavens and saw the clouds overhead, the sun shining brightly on the earth. Hmmm… where to go from here… Probably shouldn't stay in case someone wants to kill her so she should head in some direction, but where? She'll have to figure that out, she decided, so she began to wander aimlessly through the streets.

After walking for a while, with the sun beating down on her head, she found a shady spot on the edge of this so called village, deciding once the sun went down she would try making her way across the sands again. She pulled out the book and looked at the front cover, a symbol of a flame with the top of the flames being blue, the middle being red, and the bottom being blue again. "A-ayumu," she pouted, deciding to flip through the pages and see what all the fuss was about. Chakra… jutsu… the five elements. "Elements…" she thought aloud, lifting up her sleeve to stare at one of the symbols on her body. "Five… I guess that makes sense," she shrugged, quickly pulling her sleeve down and continuing on with her reading. This book spoke of an age before the ages, before ninja and samurai; five clans for five elements… the Nagakawa specializing in the katon, the fire element. Yet the specialty of the village was the five-prong technique, using all five elements of ninjutsu into a powerful attack. So that's why those people wanted the book, because of these secrets; to master ninjutsu, but to also combine all five elements into a super force. Is that why they wanted to kill her? To take this secret away from her? –

Her head snapped up. She felt a disturbance in the air. Her eyes looked over, out in the distance, to a small boy walking into the courtyard. She raised an eyebrow at this, feeling a strong power radiating from the boy, yet the other children seemed scared and shied away from the boy. Hmmm… interesting… did they notice his powers too? "I-it's Gaara!" one of the children cried out in terror.

"E-eh, we should go now," another chuckled nervously, quickly retreating out of the courtyard.

The boy looked up at them sadly before looking down at the ground, the children running away from him leaving the courtyard desolate and empty. His fair skin and spiky auburn hair didn't catch her attention, but the depressed turquoise eyes that held no pupils staring back at her, black koi surrounding his eyes or could they be part of his body? She didn't know, but she was suddenly curious. "What are you staring at?" the boy asked with a frown and she warmly smiled back.

"Oh nothing," she giggled lightly, "but I just noticed those children running away. Why?"

"W-why?" he asked, taking a step closer to her, but not daring to close the distance since he was afraid she'd run away like everyone else. "Don't you know what I am?"

"Hmmm? N-no I suppose," the girl shrugged, standing up and brushing the sand from her bottom. "I can tell you hold some sort of power, but honestly it doesn't seem like you should be scary… or rather you don't emit an energy that says you should be scary."

"… You're weird," the boy commented, watching as the slightly taller girl tilted her head to the side before she grinned widely.

"I'd hope so. It's boring to be the same like everyone else after all," she giggled lightly, remembering Ayumu's words to her before shaking her head and staring up at the sky. "… Well boy you asked me if I know what you are and I don't, so what are you?"

His eyes widened in shock and then he calmed down, holding so much sadness in his gaze that it made the girl pout. "… I-I am… Gaara… Sabaku no Gaara." He pressed a hand to his chest, clutching his heart, and her eyes wandered from his hand back up to his face while he held back tears. He didn't want her to leave, but she'll leave like all the rest once the girl knows his true nature. "I am a… jinchuuriki with an evil sand spirit living inside of me."

"… Oh," she shrugged, her hand on her hip while a huff escaped her lips, "is that all or…"

"All?" the boy stared up at her, completely confused by her words. "Y-you're not going to run away –"

"Why would I run away because of a silly little thing like that?" she snorted before a faint smile appeared on her lips. "Besides I don't think anyone understands that a jinchuuriki did not choose to hold a demon spirit within them. I should know…" Gaara watched as she looked down at her chest, clutching her heart as a deep sigh escaped her mouth. Then she looked up at him and grinned, a hearty grin that caused the boy to smile back. "So if you don't mind me asking, where am I?"

"Y-you don't know where you are?" he asked and the girl nodded her head.

"I don't. I-I just had to get away," she answered and tried to smile, but smiling seemed discouraging as she thought back on running. The girl looked down at her stomach and smoothed out her clothes, the boy noticing her frail form and the grumble in her stomach that didn't seem to go away. "Where am I?"

"Sunagakure, in the Land of Wind," he told her.

"Oh… and where's that?" she chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head.

"… Do you want to come to my house for supper?" the boy asked, her eyes looking over at him confused before another weak smile appeared on her face.

"R-really? I-I don't want to burden you –"

"No it'll be fine! You just seem hungry and… I-I don't want you to leave." He looked down to the ground and the girl giggled, taking a step closer till she was a few inches away.

"Well okay, if you're going to insist," she grinned, "but seriously, I don't want to get you into trouble or something like that –"

"It'll be alright! Here I'll show you." Gaara grabbed her hand and she yelped in surprise, suddenly being pulled out of the courtyard and into the streets. "… Y-you're not afraid of me, are you?"

"No," she snorted. "I have no reason to be!"

"Okay!" he grinned, pulling her along. "… So what's your name?"

"It's… I think… Nagakawa Suzume, but Ayumu called me little Suzume… and everyone else called me 'that thing'," she shook her head and sighed. "But anyways," she quickly perked up with a grin on her face, "can you tell me what a jinchuuriki is?"

"W-what? –"

"Because all I hear is jinchuuriki and demon. Is a jinchuuriki a demon or something? O-or does that mean something else entirely?"

)(*&^%$# !

"S-so you're a jinchuuriki too?" little Gaara asked while he gently gripped the girl's hand with his, a grin on her face while she nodded and they wandered deeper into the village. "How could you not know what we are? Didn't anyone tell you?"

"… No. They saw no reason to," she shrugged. "I wasn't going anywhere. If I had known I had a demon living inside of me… I guess they were just afraid I would escape and destroy everything. Isn't that what jinchuurikis' do? Destroy everything?"

"N-no. Yashamaru tells me that's not what a jinchuuriki does, but they can." The boy gave her a weak smile before looking over, noticing the glances they were getting as people ran away from them, or preferably from him. "… What is your bijuu then?"

"I-I don't know," she shook her head and looked away. "You just said bijuus are tailed demons, but my demon doesn't have that… I guess… if I think about it… it's a serpent."

"Serpent? –"

"Something like that. I-I don't know," she chuckled nervously. "I never had to describe it before. No one asked. Everyone knew what I was and never told me. I should know, I suppose, but I don't… a multi-headed snake demon that infiltrates the jinchuuriki's dreams and turns them into nightmares… Ayumu told me this and that my chakra, whatever that is, is always being used even in my sleep. I'm unable to rest because I'm always dreaming of snakes and demons and terror… S-so I don't know. I never gave it a name. What about you?" Suzume paused, pulling on the boy's hand to stop his movements. "What do you call yours?"

"It's Suna no Shukaku, a living sand spirit of a corrupt Suna priest who had been sealed in a tea kettle. Shukaku has so much blood-lust and rage that it's hard to keep him in control. See?" the child pointed down and Suzume looked at her feet, noticing the sand creating a tiny vortex around the two of them, but the sand was starting to twist around her ankles and made her skin crack. "E-veryone is scared of me because of the bijuu, b-but I didn't chose this. It's hard for me to keep this demon in control, it really is! I just… wish there were others that understood this anger I feel… right here." He pressed a hand over his heart and the child stared at him curiously, reaching up to put a hand on his chest, but the sand quickly blocked her hand from doing so.

Suzume smiled weakly, but held a lot of sadness in her eyes. "Is this how jinchuurikis are portrayed? Hmmm… that's not good," she commented to herself, moving her hand away before giving the boy a friendly grin. "I-I never dreamt it was that way…"

"W-what does dreaming have to do with what I am –"

"Well I would dream that there were other creatures like me in the world, but the thing that Ayumu always told me is that I can make those dreams possible," her smile widened before it turned to a pout. "Yet even if I can make dreams into reality that means my demons can become real. I don't understand what Ayumu was trying to explain to me, but maybe over time I will. I-it doesn't matter anyways," she shook her head, "because I never thought I would escape."

"Escape?" the boy stared at her with interested eyes. "W-what do you mean escape? You keep saying that… where do you come from?"

"I don't know where I came from," Suzume shook her head, "and I don't know where I'm going, but I have to get away. That's what I have to do, get away. Ayumu gave me something very precious to him and told me to run. H-he gave me a lot… and… I-I wish I didn't have to leave, but I'm so glad I did. I got to see the sky. Oh it's so beautiful up here!" She looked up to the sky, her bright sapphire eyes glistening in the sunlight.

Gaara noticed this and smiled, but saw that the sun was starting to go down and everyone was retreating back into their homes. "Up here?" he asked, though he was grinning as he grabbed her hand again and pulled her through the streets. "Y-you came from underground? –"

"I was imprisoned; I think is the term for it," Suzume shrugged, "and I had always lived in a small confinement that was fifteen steps wide and forty hands tall. Someone came by with food and water every five thousand drops of water from above and the only company I had were the rats and the snakes and the spiders… and whatever else came into the room. I was chained most of the time, see?" She pulled up her sleeves to reveal red rashes on her wrists, "and Ayumu told me there was a seal on the room so I couldn't get out and hurt anyone, but I would ever do that!... but that's how I lived. I don't know the name of that place or anything… M-maybe I should go –"

"No it's okay!" Gaara grinned, coming across a large building and knocking on the door. As he knocked the sand around his feet picked up and began to turn a knob since he was too short to reach the door himself. "P-please don't go. I don't want to be alone –"

"Okay," she smiled, her head looking around at the empty feeling again, "but I-I need to find food –"

"I will get you food," he told her with a smirk, "and you look tired. Have you ever had gizzard? It's my favorite dish!"

"E-eh… no, but okay," Suzume grinned warmly. "Sounds delicious, whatever that is –"

They paused, seeing the door open, but what had opened the door was Gaara's sand, not someone physically opening the door. "… I guess no one heard me," the boy shrugged, entering the building and letting the girl walk inside before closing the door behind him. Her eyes lit up. The hallway was so vast and big that it reminded her of a temple in one of the books Ayumu gave her to read. Much bigger than the confinement she had been placed in all her life, that's for sure. "… We should go this way," the boy commented and pointed down the left side of the hallway, Suzume nodding and following one step behind Gaara while his eyes searched constantly down every corridor and every hallway as if he was looking for something. The girl obediently followed right behind the boy, the thought of food making her stomach grumble while she was subconsciously scared of someone that wanted to kill her making her way toward them.

"No one's here," Gaara pouted, his head looking into a darkened room and he used his sand to turn on the lights. Suzume's eyes lit up at the large room, filled with so many smells that it made her mouth water. "Here, w-we have some dried stuff over here." The boy walked over to a cabinet and opened the door, Suzume peeking her head inside to find a lot of dried meats stacked on top of each other. "Is there something you would prefer or…"

"I don't care. I'm just hungry," she chuckled nervously, holding her stomach as it growled at the food in front of her.

Grinning the boy grabbed some meat from the top stack, handing them to the girl who quickly gobbled them up before the boy could even blink. "You're hungry," he giggled lightly, his turquoise eyes looking around till he saw a large water skin and using the sand moved the skin off of the high ledge so he could put it in his hands. "H-here. It's water."

"Oh water," Suzume smiled, bowing slightly as she grabbed the water skin and slowly drank down the liquid. She choked at how dry her throat was, but her body quickly felt better and she took a few more sips before handing the water back to the boy. "Thank you very much."

"No problem," Gaara smiled, the sand levitating the skin out of his hands and placing it back on the counter. "You look better now, but your clothes aren't… maybe Temari can get you something."

"Who is Temari? –"

"She is my big sister," Gaara told her as he dragged her out of the room before she could grab anything else, "and very smart. No one likes me talking to them, but maybe if she sees how tired you look she will do something for me."

"O-okay," Suzume chuckled nervously, "as long as I won't be any trouble for you –"

"No trouble at all!... but maybe she's in the garden." Keeping his hand with hers he maneuvered skillfully through the hallway, a maze was more like it. Suzume got dizzy as she followed behind Gaara, but didn't say a thing and let the boy lead them. After all this must be him home after all and she didn't want to be ungrateful. He was so nice compared to the other children she had ever known who would spit at her when they came down to gawk at her through her steel bars. Calling her a demon and a no good monster hurt her feelings at how angry or humorous their names seemed to be. Only Ayumu ever called her by her name, Suzume, but even now she was scared of something like that happening to her again. She sighed, looking down at the floor. She missed Ayumu and wished he could be here with her, guiding her like he always did, but he wasn't and she wished she could go back… even if the world was so confined and damp she wanted to go back, just to see him again –

"T-temari? Oneesan?" Suzume curiously peeked from behind Gaara, noticing a much taller girl with long blonde hair. Her hair was pinned up into four ponytails, gathered behind her head, and an apron while she was crouched down over the dirt planting something.

Noticing her name being called she looked up, her face quickly paling once she noticed who it was. "O-oh Gaara! Hello there! D-don't worry I'll be gone in a second –"

"N-no wait I need to ask some… ting…" the boy frowned, watching as her sister ran away, but was stopped by a tall wall of sand.

"Agh! O-okay I'm sorry. J-just what do you want with me?! –"

"Suzume needs some clothes. Do you have something small she could wear?" the boy asked, the girl staring at him confused before standing up straighter and crossing her hands over her chest.

"Oh? Who's this 'sparrow' you speak of –"

"M-me," the black haired girl moved aside from behind Gaara, being hidden by a small wall of sand and moving so she could be seen. "H-hi miss," she bowed her head, Temari looking at Gaara curiously before looking back at the girl.

Suzume was shivering in fear, but only because she could sense Gaara's hesitation and fear if his sister said no. "… Are you okay little girl?" Temari asked with a smile on her face, stepping aside the wall of sand and crouching down to the smaller girl's level. "Did Gaara hurt you? –"

"No! He did not!" Suzume snorted and shook her head, the older girl blinking in confusion before a smile appeared back on her lips. "Don't say that! He's right there for crying out loud! As for being hurt it was my fault so it's not a big deal," Suzume huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring angrily into the girl's bright green eyes.

Gaara jumped back, startled by the girl standing up for him. Temari chuckled and rustled up the girl's hair, Suzume yelping in surprise and swatting at the hand on top of her head. "So little Gaara has a friend now! Tell me are you new in the village?"

"Ah… y-yes –"

"So you don't know what he is –"

"T-temari no –"

"I do. He's a jinchuuriki. So what?" she shrugged, Temari staring at the girl puzzled while she continued. "Everyone is different, right? So he has a demon inside of him. Doesn't mean someone is evil just because of that. I don't get why everyone fears jinchuurikis. What they should be afraid of is the demon escaping somehow. Gaara is the nicest person I have met since I was let loose. I don't see why everyone should judge someone so quickly just because they know they had a demon or have bat wings or whatever! It's not nice, okay!? –"

"Hah! You're cute kid!" Temari grinned pressing her hand on top of Suzume's head again and the girl continued to yelp in surprise, swatting at the hand trying to get her to go away. "… You look sick though. Gaara, should she even be in here –"

"I don't care," Gaara pouted, moving closer to Suzume and causing his older sister to move away from her, "because Suzume is nice and she has had a rough day. Can you just keep this quiet oneesan? Pretty please with salt on top?"

"… Suzume how about you follow me?" Temari responded, giving Gaara a warning glance while ushering the girl away, "and Gaara how about you find Yashamaru? Maybe he can help with little Suzume because she looks really hurt."

"O-okay Temari," the boy nodded and quickly took off, Suzume watching the boy run off while Temari pushed her out of the garden and back into the dozen blinding hallways that made her eyes spin.

"So were you really brought here by your own free will –"

"Yes! Stop asking that," Suzume snorted while the older girl shrugged.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand why you would like Gaara just because he's… so… scary –"

"If you get to know your own brother you would know he isn't," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and giving the girl a cold glare. "After all you just see him as a monster, don't you? Well monsters have feelings too you know. Does a jinchuuriki choose to be a demon? No. It just happens. Don't think you know what someone is feeling unless you get to know them, okay?"

"… I can see why Gaara likes you," Temari smirked while Suzume raised an eyebrow, wondering what the taller girl meant by that while she turned a corner and went down another hallway. "A bit taller than him, but everyone is, and you're right. I should get to know my little brothers more, even if they're a pain in my ass. Now come on. Let's bandage that forehead of yours. You're bruised all over." Suzume nodded, but looked back to the room where she had left. She wanted Gaara to come back. It was scary being in this building by herself. After all she didn't really trust this girl. What if she ends up back in an underground room again, unable to get free? Oh well. As long as she kept the book safe then it didn't matter what happened to her, as long as she fulfills Ayumu's wish then she'll be content with this short life of hers. She won't give Temari any answers, but if Gaara comes back she will. After all he was like her, an outcast, a jinchuuriki, and unwanted.

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: Tada! That's the first chapter! No surprise Suzume is in the Sand Village, eh? XD Well… there's more to the story, obviously. I like writing adventure so there'll be adventure. I'm not exactly good with lovely dovey stuff, but we'll see where this goes. As for the chapters so far there's about seven of them already written, including this one. So… yeah. That's it I guess. If you have questions or comments don't be afraid to ask ^^ **

Ayumu (歩夢) – Japanese – _ayu_ (歩) means to 'walk' and _mu_ (夢) means 'dream, vision'

naga (永) – Japanese – eternal

kawa (川) – Japanese – river

Suzume(雀) – Japanese – tree sparrow; talkative person, knowledgeable person


	2. The Strange Markings

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Well I had some time today so I decided to review the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Here's some more information on Suzume. Once again if you have any questions you can ask. If you would also like to suggest an OC(s) that's fine too. I'm open to comments and reviews, but let me just warn you in advance that I tend to not answer my messages for a while. I used to be on top of that, but now I've been behind. So yeah. That's all. I don't intend to have all my comments as long as the first chapter was… ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

"Is it bad obasan?" Temari asked while Suzume had her back to her, looking down at her hands and twiddling her fingers nervously.

"The girl will be fine Temari," a pleasant looking man with sandy brown hair and big brown eyes answered, but his eyes remained fixated on the tattoos on the small girl's thin body. He gently patted away the blood on her skin, wrapping bandages on her wounds that made the child look like a mummy being prepared for burial. There were five tattoos on her body: two on her ankles, two on her upper arms, and one on her stomach. The symbol of fuuton was on her left arm, ration on her right arm, doton on her right ankle, suiton on her left, and koton upon her stomach. Each symbol had a circle tattooed around it, a symbol of the endless circle around each image. Without those symbols the girl was still in bad shape. She must have been starving for days, raw bruises on her wrists and around her ankles as well as her neck, her long raven hair was messy, un-kept, and will probably need to be cut, and her skin was pale due to being underground. If that hadn't been enough, she looked like she had been through a war. The hot sun had dried out her skin and she looked parched, but Suzume was still alive. How? "… Are you alright child?"

"Yes," Suzume answered meekly, barely caring that the man was poking her and touching her wounds. "… Are you going to make me leave?"

"What?" Yashamaru looked up at the girl confused, Suzume staring down at him with lifeless eyes.

"Are you going to kick me out? I wouldn't be surprised if you did… I don't care if you do," she told him, looking down at the ground.

Yashamaru exchanged glances with Temari before a light chuckle escaped his lips, Suzume looking at him puzzled while he gave her a grin. "Of course not child. Why would we do something like that –"

"Well no one likes me so… I figured you would hate me too," she shrugged. "Isn't that what people do? Spit on me and call me an evil beast?"

"… Now why would anyone do that –"

"I-I don't know, but they do. So why not you?" she asked with a cold look on her face, but Yashamaru could see the pain appearing in her darkened blue eyes.

"Because… because I try to see the best in an individual," he smirked, lifting up her arm and wrapping the last of the bandages down her biceps. "You must have been through a lot. What happened to you?"

"… I don't want to talk about it," she answered in a quiet whisper, noticing the man was still giving her a smile that made her pout even more.

"Do you even know what happened –"

"It's all a blur," Suzume sighed deeply, "and I just know a lot of… pain."

"I'm sorry," he frowned as he let go of her arm. "Am I hurting you –"

"Not that," she shook her head. "I-it was something else… that you don't want to hear. I won't say it."

"I don't want to hear it or you don't want to say it?" he asked, but the girl looked down, back at her hands that were bandaged up except for a small piece of flesh seeping out of the side of her wrist. "… Temari did you find any clothes yet?"

"Oh? S-sorry," she chuckled, quickly dashing over to her closet and looking through the various piles of clothes she had. Suzume stared at Temari emotionlessly, knowing she was staring at her like everyone else does. Always staring… the thought made her frown. To be seen as a monster or just a stranger. Never as Suzume, a person.

Yashamaru stared at Suzume, studying her eyes. Perhaps bringing up the past isn't the best idea right now. Proper rest will do the girl some good. Then maybe she would like to talk. As for telling the Kazekage Temari and then Gaara pleaded to not tell anyone, even their father. Why? Sure the man wasn't bad, but Yashamaru could see why he supposed, at least in Gaara's case. If the Kazekage made the child leave the boy would be devastated. What Temari said was true; this girl seemed to be a friend now. He wanted her to stay, but would she want to? Where did she come from? Does she have any parents? Is she trying to get somewhere? –

"Y-yashamaru?" a meek voice came from the door, three pair of eyes turning to the red headed boy that peeked one eye into the room before quickly pulling away to stare at the door.

"Yes Gaara?" the man asked with a smirk.

"F-father wants to see you," he told the man, Yashamaru sighing as he stood up and grabbed the medical bag by Suzume's side. "He… wants you to do something, I-I think –"

"Well then, Lord Gaara could you come in here and watch Suzume for me?" The boy peeked his head back into the room, staring at Yashamaru widely that made the two girls snicker, "I'll be back as soon as I can you three. Don't do anything absurd while I'm gone."

"Yes Yashamaru," Gaara answered as the man left, looking down to the ground as he closed the door and kept his back to the wall. "A-ahhmmmm…"

"… Is something wrong?" Suzume tilted her head to the side, forgetting she was practically naked except for the clothing between her legs and the bandages she had on.

"The boy is just being polite," Temari snickered, throwing a set of clothing at the younger girl; Suzume yelping in surprise as it slumped over her face and flopped down onto her lap. "Gaara, get your butt in here and just… ah… sit over there in the corner."

"O-okay," he mumbled, quickly walking around the bed to the other side, sitting down on the matress with his back facing Suzume's back.

The room was silent for a while as Suzume slipping on the clothing, except when she yelped while struggling with the various holes while Temari helped her into the clothes. "Geeze. I'd think you never wore clothing before, huh?"

"J-just enough I guess," Suzume shrugged back, smiling slightly at Temari's playfulness while her eyes began to stare at the boy in the room. She pulled on the faded blue baggy shirt, the light brown pants small enough to fit around her tiny waist while she tugged on the ends and tried to make everything fit. Even if the outfit was a little big it wasn't too bad, the ends of the pants barely grazing the floor while Suzume walked around the bed and jumped onto the end of the bed, startling the boy. "So Gaara! What's up?"

"W-what's up? –"

"I wanted to thank you for this," she grinned, pointing to her bandages, "but honestly you didn't have to go through the trouble. I'm fine with just letting my wounds heal on their own –"

"You were hurt. I'm not going to let you walk around in the middle of the hot spells like that… D-does it hurt?" he asked meekly, enough for the girls to hear even though he was being quiet.

"Honestly… yes," she scratched the back of her head, chuckling and shaking her head once she noticed the frown on his face, "but not to worry. This is normal for me. You shouldn't worry so much."

"… May I ask you a question?" Gaara asked again.

"Ah, sure. I'm not stopping you," she smiled.

"Those markings… they're not natural markings, are they?" he said, Suzume's smile waning while she looked down to her hands resting on her lap.

"N-no, but I've always had them," she told him. "I think… from what I've been told… my village specialized in ninjutsu and the studies of… elements I think? Different styles and combinations I'm guessing. I don't know if everyone has them or just me, but the black circles around the words are for sealing… or maybe it's not sealing. Maybe they just appeared to drain my chakra."

"Oh," Gaara nodded, Temari snorting and sitting down beside Suzume.

"What?" she huffed. "That makes no sense Suzume. Why do you need a sealing spell anyways?"

Suzume didn't say a word and continued to look at her hands, her fingers twiddling while the boy looked at his older sister and pouted. "Temari –"

"No please tell. Apparently you're not saying something –"

"Don't make her say it," he frowned.

"Say **what**?" Temari snorted, but Suzume just looked away and bit down on her bottom lip. "What's so important that you can't tell me? –"

"Temari. I'll only say this once. **Stop**," Gaara glared back, causing the girl to flinch and scoot away.

'W-what'd I do? –"

"I-it's okay Gaara," Suzume chuckled nervously and held up her hand, the small amount of sand that was beginning to form in the air stopping right at her palm and the boy stared at her confused. "Let her ask. I-I don't mind."

"But –"

"But what? –"

"I-if you tell onnesan, even if you wanted to, f-ather will make you leave," Gaara frowned and looked away, staring down at his hands as the sand began to recede back and fall to the ground.

"… You actually don't want me to leave huh?" Suzume thought aloud and the boy nodded his head, a tired sigh escaping the girl's lips and then a smile appeared on her lips once she thought about the reason for a while. "Then don't worry. I won't tell a soul if that's what you're worried about… but I need to tell you I will have to go."

"What?" Gaara turned his head to stare into Suzume's eyes, her mouth smiling fainting before she couldn't bare his gaze and looked away. "W-why –"

"I don't know if they'll find me," she frowned. "I already told you I escaped. Someone may still try to find me. I-I don't want you, anyone, to get in trouble for my sake –"

"I don't care!" he yelled at her response so he could be heard. "You're like…ah… you're a friend to me Suzume."

"Friend?" she tilted her head to the side. "What's that?"

"You don't know? –"

"A friend is someone you know and trust," Gaara smiled happily, "and who you like. Who doesn't run away and wants to stay with you and talk with you. Am I your friend Suzume?"

"Yes," she grinned in response. "If that's what a friend is then yes! I like you too." The boy's eyes widened in response and he looked to the ground, his sister giggling at the red tint in his cheeks while Suzume tilted her head to the side in confusion. "A-ah did I say something wrong Gaara?"

"N-no," he shook his head, still looking away, "you didn't."

She expected the boy to say more, but since he didn't Suzume sighed and shook her head. "No something's wrong, but if you don't want to say anything I won't ask," she bluntly told him.

"… Hey Suzume!" Temari jumped to her feet, grabbing the girl off of the bed and she yelped in surprise. "You can sleep in my room, right?"

"S-sleep? –"

"Yeah. It's practically nightfall now, see?" the girl pointed out the small circular window and Suzume followed her gaze, noticing the bright light in the sky was indeed gone like the older girl was describing. "Why? Don't you sleep?"

"Ah… yes, but only when I'm tired," she shrugged, "and I'm not really tired… but I suppose, if I must, I'll try to."

"Oh really?" Temari thought. "Well alright. You'll try then! We'll just wait for Yashamaru to come back and we'll get to bed, right Gaara?"

The boy looked at his sister and looked at Suzume before looking back to Temari and giving her a nod. "O-okay I guess. Right, bed. It's bedtime for you Suzume."

"Alright, I guess," the girl shrugged before sighing and standing up to her feet. "But," Suzume groaned as she stretched her limbs and began to walk around the room, "I don't see the point, but if you want me to sleep I will gladly do it. If that's what you're supposed to do around here."

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

_Little sapphire eyes peered beneath long black bangs. Suzume covered her arms and shivered, feeling the wind sweep past her body while her exposed arms and legs suffered through the elements. She looked around, feeling the ground beneath her feet. Dust picked up and blew past her face, the little girl covering her face with her left arm. Again she felt the wind pick up and she fell on her right side, dirt flying in her face while she coughed up blood. "I-I know you're there," she mumbled, crawling on her hands and knees while she tried to get away, "and I-I just want you to know I'm not afraid of you –"_

"_Afraid~~?" she heard a hiss behind her head and turned her neck, only to find that nothing was there except for the wind blowing past her ears. "You should be very~ much afraid little sparrow. I noticed you're not where you're supposed to be? Oh what a pity~ –"_

"_You know as much as I do that you wanted to get out of that cell. What?" the girl snarled, her bright blue eyes glowing intently in the darkness. "Are you going to eat me now? Is that what you want?! –"_

"_Perhaps later," the deep voice thought with a hiss. "For now let us see what you'll do for me."_

"… _Shut up," she huffed, standing up to her feet and stumbling away from the voice. Yet wherever she walked the voice circled around her through the wind, the ground grabbing her feet wherever she stepped. "I want nothing to do with you! I'm with people I like so leave me alone! –"_

"_Ah, but they had you sleep now didn't they~~?" the whisper seemed to grin through its teeth, but Suzume snarled back and paced back and forth. "If they were truly~ people that cared for you they wouldn't let you sleep –"_

"_Hah! I'm not stupid!" the girl laughed at the wind. "If I told everyone what I am I would be kicked out. No, only one person –"_

"_I know~. That bijuu child, the one with the one-tailed raccoon-dog within him. Yes, I know that demon pretty well and many more are out there, ripe for the pickings~~" it snickered through its teeth. "Yet he lets you sleep. If he knew what I was capable of he wouldn't let you –"_

"_Shut up," she snarled._

"_And he wouldn't have left you –"_

"_I told you to shut up!" Suzume yelled, something large and massive appearing in her hand and she hurled it at the voice. It laughed heartedly at her attempt, the girl whimpering in anger and slumping to the ground. "I may have needed you when I was trapped, but I don't anymore. Leave my head alone! –"_

"_Never," it snickered, the girl yelping in surprise and curling up on the ground, clutching her left arm and right foot in pain while it laughed. "Not until I eat~~ you –"_

Suzume gasped, waking up from her dream. She felt something drip onto her cheek, looking up in horror to see a large serpent hissing at her made out of the dirt of the earth. Noticing its dark red glaze she glared back, a warning glance with menacing sapphire eyes that twinkled in the moonlight that came from a nearby window. In a whirlwind the dirt fell to ground, a deep sigh escaping the girl's lips as she slumped back into bed and rubbed the sleepy seeds out of the corners of her eyes. She looked at the older girl sleeping in the bed above her mat, Temari's back turned to her and her blonde hair cascading down her back. "Nothing happened," she sighed deeply in a whisper, sitting up and groaning in pain at the waves of strain on her body.

She felt as if she had been walking aimlessly through the desert again, even though she had been asleep this whole time. The nightmare drifting about her sleep was another snake, a snake of dust it seemed. It was the combination of wind and earth, which was why her left arm and right ankle was in so much pain. Lifting up the bandage Suzume could see the fuuton glowing fiercely, the black tattoo circling around her arm enrapturing the wind. She put a hand on her arm and closed her eyes, wielding the pain to stop. When she opened her eyes again the tattoos on her left arm had stopped glowing, the black circle had stopped with its thick head in a different spot then it had been before nightfall. She had to do the same with the doton on her right ankle, wielding the black snake to stop circling around her tattoo before she slumped back onto the mat. This is why she never tried to sleep for fear of the nightmares. The demonic snake would always in different forms of elements to torment her dreams. That's why the demon couldn't be a bijuu, it had multiple personalities and heads. Ayumu told her the demon was a snake with multiple heads. He never said anything about multiple tails.

Suzume sat up and gripped the small pendent around her neck: a red, orange, and yellow bird necklace with a small blue flame within its belly that seemed to glow in tune with her chakra flow. After a dream like that she always felt better gripping the pendent tightly as if it gave her the extra strength she needed to awaken. This was a routine for her in the cell: to sleep once she couldn't stay awake, dream of a particular voice, and wake up to that snake hissing at her before evaporating into the air. Because of this she trained herself more and more to stay awake for longer periods of time, but still… it was scary. What if a snake finally eats her in her sleep? Now that she's with other people will they notice? Yes, yes they would and for tonight they wouldn't know. Another thing she had to keep secret, Suzume sighed deeply and ran her fingers through her long hair. That Temari was a heavy sleeper, the girl realized with a smirk, and decided to roam around the building a little bit since she didn't want to sleep anymore.

Slipping off of the mat the girl slinked her way through the darkened room, the only thing illuminating her body was the moonlight shining from the window and her bright blue eyes. She actually had excellent night vision, something that she adapted after living underground, and would rather be up at night then during that blinding daytime. Suzume remembered to keep silent, her steps as quiet as pond scum, but she didn't have to work at that either. The only problem was opening the door, softly to not make a sound, and slowly closing the door behind her.

The girl noticed the hallway lights had been turned off, but she continued in the darkness. Maybe she could find light somewhere, something so she could read from the book she had taken. After all what's the point of keeping this Nagakawa Handbook if she never learned what was in its contents, right? Suzume wasn't dumb or illiterate. There was a lot Ayumu taught her and she was grateful. He told her many things like how her parents hated her. How they never wanted her around. How the village didn't even what her around and simply used her as a vessel for a demon. She grew to hate that village she was born in, but… when Ayumu told her to kill everyone she couldn't do it. Suzume didn't want to do it. Why kill everyone that spat in her face and gawked at her? What could that accomplish? She may hate their guts, but she didn't want to kill people like that. After all you should never kill the innocent, or that's what Suzume always believed in. something internal told her not to, but… when it came time to run and those men chased after her she couldn't help herself. And Ayumu… she knew he died, making her the last of her clan. She was all alone, on the run. What can she do now?

'_Survive'_

Ayumu's last words echoed in her mind like an ever flowing river.

'_Survive. For us, for the Nagakawa clan, for yourself. Survive. Kill whoever gets in your way, but stay alive. For me. So we can live on, together'_

So that is what she will do, survive. Even if she has to kill others to stay alive she will. Yet there was also one rule for herself she wanted to follow. This beautiful world above she wanted to protect with her life. This friend she has, that jinchuuriki, she wanted to protect. Only a year or two younger, yet he was so sweet and innocent. She would protect those who are important to her, protect the world around her. Suzume had to, for herself, for them, for her clan. She had to at least try –

"S-suzume?" a meek voice called to her and the girl looked up the hallway, noticing little Gaara holding a small brown teddy bear by his side. "A-are you leaving me –"

"No," she quickly shook her head and then gave him a smile. "I couldn't sleep."

The boy could tell in her eyes that she had gotten scared and he smiled, waiting for her to come closer before opening his bedroom door. "If you want to talk you can talk with me, your friend."

"Eh? Shouldn't you go to sleep too?" Suzume asked and the boy shook his head.

"No," Gaara told her, "I can't sleep either because of Shukaku."

"Oh… okay," she smiled and followed him into the room, the sand closing the door behind her even though Suzume had reached out to grab the doorknob to close the door. "… Is this where they keep you?"

"You can say that," Gaara mumbled, sitting down in the corner next to some blocks and began to mindlessly stack them one on top of the other. "There's no spell to keep me in the room. This is just my room."

"Alright," Suzume smiled, sitting down beside him and began to stack up blocks with him. She didn't see the point of stacking these blocks, but this was actually sort of fun! She giggled, creating a tower just as tall as her, and Gaara smiled back noticing how happy the girl was. He noticed she had pulled away some of her bandages and he could now see the tattoos on her left arm and right ankle, Suzume slowly stopping once she noticed he was staring and slumped back onto the ground. "Yeah… I don't know what these are, but they sometimes cause me pain and wake me up."

"That so?" the boy thought and scooted closer, reaching out for her arm, flinching back to see if she was going to turn away, but she gave him an emotionless expression that made Gaara frown. She lifted up her arm for him to see and he gently grabbed her bandaged arm, unsure if he was causing her pain while she stared blankly at him. "… How can that fuuton wake you up?"

"… Well from what I figured out so far," she began as she pulled out a small book, the boy's eyes lighting up with interest while she began to flip through the pages, "that my clan must have had something to do with ninjutsu… and… I'm guessing the tattoos on my body are connected to my… what is it called?... Chakra points!" Suzume grinned happily, "Yes, chakra points. Or my chakra or whatever you would call it. What wake me up at night are the markings, like fuuton and doton woke me up this time," she explained while gracing the two tattoos with her fingers. "Because… you see these large circles blobs around the word?"

"Yes," Gaara nodded, shifting closer to Suzume so he could notice the black circle around the fuuton symbol. As he did the black circle shifted slightly, the thicker part of the head began to spin a careful inch while it caused the boy to shift away in shock. Not only was he startled, but the demon sand spirit within him stirred in a way that made him suddenly uneasy. "W-what is that? –"

"I'm still trying to figure out if everyone in my clan had the five elements engraved on their skin or not," she continued in a calm manner, but moved her arm away noticing the boy's nervousness, "but I know for certain the black brush marks that circle the elements on my body are snakes."

"Snakes?" the boy stared at her in confusion. "H-how can you think that? –"

"Well my markings always wake me up when I'm having a nightmare," she sighed and slumped against the wall, "and that nightmare is… dreaming of snakes. This time it was just a voice in the wind and beneath my feet, but there have been other voices whispering to me in different ways, yet they know of our previous conversations as well as what I see them throughout the days. I think it's one thing… it's the demonic snake that lives inside of me."

"… I can understand that," Gaara nodded, "because Shukaku inflicts pain on me and can even control my body when I sleep, but how come those circles have anything to do with –"

"I told you," Suzume snorted. "I am a jinchuuriki with a snake demon living inside of me. Whenever I start dreaming of the snake my body reacts. I can sleep. I don't have problems with that, but as I sleep the demon feeds on my chakra. It slowly sucks the life out of me. That's why I didn't want to sleep, at least not yet. If the five elements: wind, lightning, earth, water, and fire, are connected to my chakra points then as I sleep these circles activate and begin to feed on my life energy. I am awakened as a warning because I am being fed on and Ayumu noticed that as I sleep the circles revolve around my skin while slowly turning into black snakes. Sometimes they go as far as to slither throughout my body and shine menacing red eyes at those who are watching. The longer I sleep the more the snakes feed on me and if I sleep for too long they begin to take over my body. I don't know exactly how this demon works, but it's a horrible trickster and without this reaction from my body I would have probably died years ago," she frowned. "There's not much you can do in a cell Gaara. All I could really do was drink, eat, and sleep. I barely had enough room to walk the length of the cell. Everything I know about the outside world, including being able to read and speak, is because of Ayumu. Without him I wouldn't have even left. There is nothing for me out here until he told me how glorious the world can be."

The boy tried to smile, scooting back to Suzume and staring down at her left arm again. "I feel so bad for you," he smiled weakly, gently taking her hand and pulling her arm closer so he could see the tattoo work in detail. The girl was right. He could feel the weak chakra energy coming off of the black fuuton tattoo while the black circle moved ever so slightly. Reminded him of a rattlesnake slithering in the sand, slowly and without warning until you grew too close to its fangs. "D-doesn't this ever stop –"

"No," she shook her head, "but I rest better when I'm awake then when I'm asleep. I learned that in my dreams the demon is able to take over my body easier. That could be why I was locked up, but there's more to that demon then what meets the eye. I just need to figure it out before it's too late."

"… I can help," he looked up to her eyes, but she quickly shook her head shake against his idea.

"No way. It's too dangerous. Besides it's something I have to do myself. You wouldn't even know what to do," Suzume told him. "Sure, as I grew I became more in control, but even so I don't know what exactly I am or what this creature is inside of me. Is it just one demon? Is it trying to trick me with multiple personalities or maybe it's a demon with different personalities. Maybe it's all just in my head. I don't know Gaara… b-but now that I have been given freedom I need to figure out what I am. I don't want to hurt you or Temari or Yashamaru, especially you."

"E-especially me?" Gaara blinked in confusion, the girl noticing his cheeks blushing lightly while a smile began to grace her lips. "Y-ou care about m-me –"

"Of course," she nodded. "You're my friend, right? Plus you're not that bad. Maybe cursed people like us are just misunderstood, right?"

"Right," he grinned happily. "… So what's that book?"

Gaara pointed to her hand and Suzume looked down, noticing she pulled out the handbook and quickly slipped it back into the folds of her clothing. "I-it's nothing!" she quickly told him. "Or…" she realized she should explain herself before he started to dislike her, "it's… just… a reason why I ran away. No one is to know I have this, not even you."

"Okay," he nodded, giving her a smile and noticing she probably didn't want to talk about the book anymore. "… It'll be a few hours till anyone wakes up. Do you want to go back to Temari's room or do something else?"

"… Can we just sit here and enjoy each other's company?" she smiled weakly and he grinned back.

"Yes! I-if you want… I won't keep you here –"

"I don't want to wake your sister up and I need my chakra to restore itself," Suzume told him with a shrug. "So no, you're not keeping me here. I want to be here." The boy nodded and smiled, causing the girl to giggle at his grin. Then they both went back to stacking up blocks till the sun began to rise, Gaara introducing his teddy bear to the girl as well as showing her other things around his room.

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: To quickly clarify: fuuton, ration, doton, suiton, and koton are the five main elements in the Naruto series. The various other types like ice or sand is a combination of these five elements in different ways. So fuuton is wind, ration is lightning, doton is earth, suiton is water, and koton is fire. Just so you know ^^ As for the black circle tattoo I was looking up various tattoos online and found the Ouroboros. The Ouroboros is that image of the serpent/dragon eating its tail. I also found Ensō, the Japanese word for 'circle' and associated with Zen. I got that idea for the black tattoos that are around the five elemental symbols, mainly they look like Ensō. I found some tattoos like that and I thought it was cool. So Suzume's sealing tattoos are a combination of those two elements: Ouroboros and Ensō.**


End file.
